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Erik ten Hag clashed with a Manchester United scout over the signing of Andre Onana, but INEOS’ decision last summer shows they have learned from these mistakes in the club’s recent past, a new report has found.
An own goal (goalkeeper)
At the request of their Dutch manager, Manchester United agreed to pay Inter Milan £47.2 million to sign Andre Onana in the summer of 2023. This made the Cameroonian international third most expensive shot stopper in history, despite an erratic style that defies the traditional fundamentals of goalkeeping.
It was Onana’s skills with the ball at his feet – in stark contrast to David De Gea – that prompted Ten Hag to demand a reunion with the player he had first managed at Ajax. However, it proved to be a disastrous deal, with Old Trafford regular De Gea leaving on a free transfer and Onana arriving to make even more mistakes than the Spaniard.
Perhaps the worst part of the signing, apart from the exorbitant costs involved, was the fact that Ten Hag wasn’t even able to implement a style that would allow Onana to showcase his skills in possession.
In the end, United were left with one of football’s costliest mistakes ever: a genuine own goal from a goalkeeper whose stream of errors, under both Ten Hag and Ruben Amorim, cost the club dearly, both on and off the pitch.
The fact that a player who cost almost £50 million was sent to a Turkish club just two years later, after Onana joined Trabzonspor on a season-long loan in September, underlines what a disastrous signing he was.
Learning from the past
However, it was a transfer that might never have happened had the club’s hierarchy listened to the most relevant figures, rather than letting the manager dictate recruitment policy.
The Telegraph reveals that Ten Hag had a “heated discussion” with goalkeeping scout Tony Coton over signing Onana, with the Dutchman reportedly wanting his opinion on Inter Milan’s then number 1.
But Coton was baffled by the suggestion as he “knew the club would sign Onana regardless of his assessment” – a reflection of the problems that plagued United under the Glazers’ management.
INEOS has faced a mountain of criticism since taking control of the football operation at Old Trafford. One area where United’s new rulers deserve praise, however, is their use of data and their drive to re-empower recruitment specialists.
Last summer, as Amorim pushed for the club to sign Emiliano Martinez to replace Onana, sporting director Jason Wilcox consulted Coton’s opinion on who to sign. Coton “didn’t feel [Martinez] was the right choice for United,” instead preferring Royal Antwerp’s Senne Lammens – a player he has relentlessly pushed for over the past 18 months.
“The difference this time was that United’s hierarchy, led by director of football Jason Wilcox and director of recruitment Christopher Vivell, carefully weighed all reports from Coton about Martínez and Lammens alongside the manager’s wishes and concluded that the 23-year-old Belgian was the better option both on the pitch and in the long term.”
Had United listened to Coton in 2023, a capricious option like Onana would not have been signed. But United’s goalkeeping expert felt neutralized by the hierarchy’s tendency to put the manager’s wishes above all else, wasting £47 million in the process.
The fact that INEOS did not repeat this mistake in 2025 is a testament to the new structures at Old Trafford, with Lammens proving to be one of the best signings in the Premier League, while Onana was not even included in Cameroon’s squad for the Africa Cup of Nations this month.
A stark contrast for the two shot-stoppers – but one that Coton will have found entirely predictable.
Featured image Justin Setterfield via Getty Images
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